Only One

Only one! Yet one may beSometimes welcome, whereValor needs to strike one blow,Faith to breathe one prayer.Yet it is not much, I know,When the work is done;Standing high or standing low,'Twill be only one.

Only one! When some must dieFor the weal of all,Matters it where life's last sighBreaks its earthly thrall?To the length of mortal breathThough a life be spun,Freezing on the lip of death,'Twill be only one.

Only one! Yet one may beSomething more than naught;One whose life intensityBreathed in deed and thought.Many stars flash on the nightWhen their race is run,Seek the morrow's source of light,Twill be only one.